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Ind vs WI: India opt to bowl against West Indies in 3rd ODI

November 27, 2013

MS_DhoniNew Delhi, Nov 27: Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bowl against the West Indies in the series deciding third ODI at the Green Park in Kanpur on Wednesday.

Both India and the West Indies are unchanged from the last match.

It will be two-paced wicket and the colour of the pitch is changing since morning. First few overs it will be tough but as the day progresses, it will be good for batting.

After being mauled in the two Tests and then surrendering the opening ODI at Kochi, the visitors bounced back at Visakhapatnam to keep the series alive.

This has put Dhoni and his boys under pressure ahead of a tough tour of South Africa next month. With the series level at 1-1, any slip-up will dent the home team's reputation and confidence.

For Dhoni there are some problems that need quick-fix solutions. The most serious being the lack of expertise in bowling 'death overs'. Notwithstanding the dew factor, runs have flowed rather too easily in recent times, leaving Dhoni flummoxed. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami have looked good with the new ball, but have failed to contain in the end overs.

The patchy form of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, the two left-handers in the middle-order, is also worrying. Both have looked out of sorts and the side would be hoping that they get some useful runs under their belt before the upcoming tour.

The most comforting factor for the side is the way the top-three — Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have shaped. The trio has made it a habit of providing India with flying starts, and Dhoni has always been reassuring later in the order. Also the spinners — Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja — have been on the mark, and have kept things under control in the middle overs.

West Indies, on the other hand, can take heart from the fact that they have kept the series alive till the end despite losing their two best shorter-version players, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, to injuries.

Interestingly, the West Indies have an all-win record at Green Park, having won both the matches they have played here.

Skipper Dwayne Bravo is a wily fox with the ball, and a dangerous customer with the bat. Also, playing in the IPL regularly has helped him to adjust to the conditions well.

Another one who has a good knowledge of the Indian pitches is Sunil Naraine. The way he kept Yuvraj guessing with his variety at Visakhapatnam must have made his skipper happy. The 'mystery' spinner can be quite handy here on a slow turner where the ball is likely to keep low as the match progresses.

With Johnson Charles, Kieran Powell, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy in their ranks, the Caribbeans bat deep down the order. Even if a couple of them can come up with good scores, it will test India's powerful batting line-up.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami.

West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (Capt.), Kieran Powell, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Veerasammy Permaul.

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: India skipper Virat Kohli has said that the 2014 Test series against England was the lowest point of his career.

He made the revelation during a candid Instagram Live session with former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

To date, the 2014 Test series in England remains one of the worst Test series for Kohli as he averaged just 13.40 from 10 ten innings with his highest score being 39.

"I felt like as a batsman, you know you are going to get out in the morning as soon as you wake up. That was the time I felt like that there is no chance I am getting runs. And still to get out of bed and just get dressed for the game and to go out there and go through that, knowing that you will fail, was something that ate me up," Kohli told Pietersen.

However, just four years later, Kohli made a triumphant return to England as he scored a century in the opening Test of the 2018 series and finished as the highest run-getter in the series.

Kohli told Pietersen that the performance in 2014 came because he was just thinking about his own batting.

"2014 series happened, for all the younger guys listening, because I was too focused on doing well from a personal point of view. I wanted to get runs. I could never think of what does the team want me to do in this situation," Kohli said.

"I just got too engulfed with England tour - if I perform here, Test cricket, in my mind I am going to feel established and all that crap on the outside, which is not important at all," he added.
During the chat, Kohli talked about his favourite format in cricket and he also revealed the main reason for turning into a vegan.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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Agencies
May 22,2020

India's cricket board will not push for the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia to be postponed but would consider staging the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October/November slot if it becomes available, a senior BCCI official has told Reuters.

This year's IPL, which is worth almost $530 million to the BCCI, has been indefinitely postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic while the World Cup, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 18, is also in jeopardy.

Reports in Australian media have suggested India's influential board may look to push for the World Cup to be postponed to open up a window for the IPL.

World Cup contingency plans are on the agenda at next week's International Cricket Council (ICC) board meeting but BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal said India would not be recommending it be pushed back.

"Why should the BCCI suggest postponing the Twenty20 World Cup?" Dhumal told Reuters by telephone.

"We'll discuss it in the meeting and whatever is appropriate, (the ICC) will take a call.

"If the Australia government announces that the tournament will happen and Cricket Australia is confident they can handle it, it will be their call. BCCI would not suggest anything."

While Australia has seen new infections of the novel coronavirus slow to a trickle and is gradually easing travel curbs and social distancing restrictions, hosting a 16-team World Cup would be a Herculean task for Cricket Australia.

Dhumal questioned whether the tournament should go ahead if it had to be played without spectators and said the Australian government would play a key role in any decision.

"It all depends on what the Australian government says on this - whether they'd allow so may teams to come and play the tournament," he added.

"Will it make sense to play games without spectators? Will it make sense for CA to stage such a tournament like that? It's their call."

Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts was guarded about the prospects of staging the tournament as scheduled on Friday.

"We don't have clarity on that one, yet. But as the situation continues to improve, you never know what might be possible," he said.

"It's ultimately a decision for the ICC."

The ICC has said it was unlikely to make a final call on the fate of the World Cup until August but some boards are in the process of making contingency plans in the event of a postponement.

While the BCCI recognised an open October-November window would suit the IPL, Dhumal said there was no point in making plans until there was some certainty about the World Cup.

"If we have the window available, and depending on what all can be organised, we'll decide accordingly," he added. "We can't presume that it's not happening and go on planning."

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